The ice 'chink'ed against the side of the glass, the container having been lifted off the counter and brought to a pair lips. Said lips belonged to a man who slipped at the scotch, unaffected by the burning feeling going down his throat and instead focused on the warmth that flowed through him. Looking through blonde locks, he glanced behind the bartender to see the clock. The blue numbers read half past eight. Grunting, he downed the rest of the dark liquid before standing. Five hours was too long to spend in a bar. More so with how many customers were mistaking him for a bartender due to his outfit.
While making his way out, he glanced towards the waitress who had been there to greet him to the club, asking if he would be dining. Tossing a few extra bills onto the counter for her, appreciation for her lack of flirting like the rest of the female workers, he headed towards the door. Just as he was about to open the door to step out, it opened with two men standing there, one clearly drunk already. Bar hoppers no doubt; kicked out of one and then moving onto another. Most would have quickly scuttled out of his way, but the other was too drunk to realize his mistake. Glaring up at him, he scoffed.
"Whatcha starin' at, buddy?" he slurred, looking more comical than frightening. His friend gave him a shocked look before he shoving himself between them, facing the tipsy male.
"Are you crazy? That's Shizuo you're baiting!" He was sure they were going to be in for a world of hurt. However, Shizuo merely looked at them blandly, disinterest on his features. The alcohol did well with soothing his normally tiny fuse. Instead, he allowed them to pass, both entering with fast steps.
It was at this time that he so happened to glance up at one of the TVs set up for sporting events. The news was currently playing, showing what appeared to be numerous people in a huge riot, kicking and punching. Yellow scarves, blue shirts, so many colors. Gangs from the city. A massive gang fight? But they never happened out in the open, more so with so many members present. That was risky business. Where risky business appeared, there was always a certain flea...pulling the trigger. Izaya Orihara.
Good mood disappearing, he stomped out of the pub.
It was beautiful. The blood, the chaos, the shouts, everything! Izaya stood at the window of Shinra's apartment, watching Celty's futile attempts at calming the ruckus. Such a silly girl she could be for a mythical creature. Almost human. Sadly she was not a part of his darling human race, and therefore, could not receive his love for them.
"Shizuo's going to kill you for this," the dark haired doctor stated, "This time you might not be so lucky with your escape." His tone remained light, a smile on his face as he watched The Headless Rider push back the crowd with her smoke, only to have them react with more rage.
Chuckling, the information broker shrugged, easily retorting, "That's what I'm hoping for, Shinra. Shizu-chan and I will have one last fight before I reach my goals. After all, I've always wanted to kill him." Shinra turned to him, curious.
"You think you can kill him?"
"I know I can." Izaya smirked, twirling a switchblade in his hand, one that lacked the same design as his usual, before stuffing it back into his pocket. "Wanna help?"
"Nah, Celty wouldn't like it if I tried to hurt him." Once again, a simple and cheerful reply. The other only nodded. He expected this much. They observed in silence for a few more minutes before the human lover finally turned, hands in his coat pockets and eyes closed.
"It's time for me to go. I'll see you at the gates of Valhalla." With that, he strolled, no, skipped out the door, deciding to find a more visible location.
Shizu-chan is so stupid. If I don't make it obvious, he'll never find me, he thought.
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.
The only word running through Shizuo's mind as he walked briskly down the streets, citizens evading him as he towed his way through the crowd. When he got his hands on Izaya, he was going to ring his skinny neck!
These things never went smoothly for him, however, and it appeared they weren't going to now as Simon stepped in front of him. Normally he would try to convince the bodyguard to let go of his grudge and eat at the Russian Sushi restaurant, but this time he wore a grave look on his face. As rare as this was, the blonde couldn't help but stop. If the Russian proved to be annoying, distracting him from his current goal of murdering a certain raven haired male, he would just have to make a dash for it.
"Shizuo, what are you doing out with all of this chaos, eh?" Simon asked, already knowing the answer.
"What the hell do you think? Going after that fucking flea," he growled, fists clenching in his urge to punch something. He really hated violence. "And don't give me any of your bullshit about not disturbing the peace. It's already been messed up!"
Shockingly, Simon nodded his head in agreement. Chaos was raining down on Ikebukuro, more than even this city could take. "That's not why I stopped you." he stated, crossing his arms. There was a moment of silence, him waiting for Shizuo to reply, then, realizing he wasn't going to, continued, "I've heard rumors that Izaya's got a new weapon."
"So what?"
"It's different this time, Shizuo. You can hold your own against bullets, knives, and pipes, but I've heard this one isn't like those. No, it's assured to kill you. I don't think anyone would make that promise lightly, do you?"
Everyone knew how hard he was to kill. Even a gun couldn't kill him, though it hurt like hell.
"Tch...I'm still going to go find that flea and murder him. Don't get in my way, Simon." he growled, eyes narrowing behind his purple shades. The dark skinned Russian stared at him a moment, sighing before he nodded. For once, allowing violence because it was necessary. Otherwise the city would fall to ruins. Shizuo marched away, searching.
The further he searched, the more destruction he encountered. The more destruction, the more anger that coursed through him. Damn Izaya for always ruining any peace he had in his life! From attempting to blame him for crimes to just making his high school years plain hell. This time the self-proclaimed human lover won. He started the war he wished for, and that pissed off Shizuo.
"IZAYAAAA~" he shouted, throwing his head back, only to freeze when clapping came from his left side, eyes darting that way. There stood Izaya, hands coming together in mock congratulations.
"Great job, Shizu-chan. You found me." A knife, the same he had toyed with during his visit to Shinra's, was pulled from his pocket and flipped open menacingly. Honey eyes looked at the blade, one he had been warned about not a half an hour ago, before they moved back to the man's face.
"Izaya-"
"Come now. Surely you can do more than shout my name."
"I'm going to kill you, bastard." A sign was pulled from the sidewalk.
"Heh, you always say that~" The knife held up defensively.
Signs littered the street, knocking out gang members that happened to get in the middle of the blonde and raven haired man's fight. Both were bruised, bloodied, and panting, but they never stopped their belligerent dance. Strikes to the most vital of points, underhanded tactics, little regard for damage control, that was a true Shizuo vs. Izaya fight. The only thing missing was the yelling that was always met with teasing. No mocking smirks, no enraged name calling. Only blank expressions, concentration in their eyes. This battle was different than all those that came before simply in the fact that it was to be the last battle.
After what felt like hours, which was only twenty minutes, they both stood on opposite sides of the street, clothes maimed. True to Simon's words, Izaya's new knife left fatal wounds that had him bleeding profusely, however, Izaya himself has lost a good amount of blood. Neither could find the will to move through the pain anymore.
"You really are a monster, Shizu-chan. I can't believe you're still standing." the broker spat, displeased. He was missing his darling humans' expressions from the chaos.
"Look who's talking." the bodyguard shot back, leaning against the wall. Neither could do more, they both knew it. At the rate they were going, broken bones, wounded, they weren't going to be doing much of anything anymore. Shinra wasn't around, hospitals wouldn't be called to help them. The knowledge would scare most, but the two of them rested calmly, breaths raspy. The fighting around them muffled by the ringing in their heads. In that moment, both laid with wistful expressions. Regrets coming to mind. Izaya would not get to see the war he worked so hard for, Shizuo would never properly speak with his brother for one last time.
Such is the luck of the King and Joker of Ikebukuro.